Essay Example on Influence: Its Good and Bad Impact on Us

To influence is to have the ability to change the behaviors of something or someone else. This influence can either be a good one or a bad one. Human beings often have the desire to have control over their lives. However, since the universe is comprised of mutual interactions, people do what others tend to do, and this influence becomes their driving force. Most people do not realize that they have authority over others, while others intentionally people for their benefits. There are many ways in which people get influenced by others. Students may try changing their behavior to fit in a particular group that has the characteristics that the student desires. In another case, orders given by an employer will make an employee follow them to the latter to please him or her. People accept to be influenced so that they can be allowed in a particular group. The fact that influence can affect behaviors positively it goes without saying that there are also demerits alongside. Some of the influencers in history include Abraham Lincoln, who an American president (Flache et al.). He is considered to have influenced the culture and behaviors of the American people in several ways.

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Abraham Lincoln's most known achievement is the ending of slavery in America. While he did not consider himself as an Abolitionist, he still fought the fight against slavery in America. According to him, slavery was morally wrong, and even though he did not believe that blacks and whites should be equal. He felt that blacks had the right to enjoy the fruits of their labor and be able to live peacefully by improving their living condition in society. With the help of the congress, Abraham Lincoln managed to put an end to slavery through the 'Emancipation Proclamation' which was both a proclamation and executive order by him since he was the president at that time. The executive order changed the legal status of millions of enslaved African-American from being slaves to free citizens of the state under the Federal Government (Steiner et al.). According to the Emancipation Proclamation, once a slave escaped from the control on their slavers and past the union lines, they were considered to be free, and no one was allowed to capture them again. Most of the slaves that were not able to escape were eventually freed by the state action. Lincoln made sure that slavery ended in all states, even the ones that were rebellious since he was not only a president of the United States. He was the commander in chief of the armed forces (Flache et al.). It enabled him to use military action on states or people who still practiced slavery.

Although Lincoln issued an executive order on ending slavery, it was still not followed in all regions since America had two parts then; the union state (northern territory) and the united states (southern). The executive order did not apply in the united states; hence they did not end slavery immediately, which in turn led to a war break out between the two regions. Since the Emancipation Proclamation had given black people the right to serve in the army and to fight for their freedom, they fought and won against the confederate states. Winning the war enabled Abraham Lincoln to reunite the union and the confederacy into one big country, the United States, since the confederate state had been defeated. He felt that it was essential to reunite both the union and the confederacy after the war (Flache et al.).

When people surround themselves with good influences, they become happier. It makes them transform bad influences into good ones, thereby creating more value, which makes people even more satisfied.

Works Cited

Steiner, Richard. Father Abraham: Lincoln's relentless struggle to end slavery. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Flache, Andreas, et al. "Models of social influence: Towards the next frontiers." Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 20, no. 4 ,2017. DOI: 10.18564/jasss.3521